Message 02-05-06

Series: Sexuality

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-31

Title: "G"

Intro:

Back when I was a youth pastor I took a group of students to a large retreat. Part of the retreat was a seminar on sexuality and the Bible and the speaker of the day decided to include a little icebreaker exercise. He explained that he was going to read a series of statements and everyone was to move to a specific place in the room to express their agreement, disagreement or mixed feelings about each one. Everyone was to go to one side of the room for agreement, the other side for disagreement and stand in the middle of the room if they were sure either way.

Along with a number of important issues there were a few statements that were clearly jokes, just for fun. One of the statements was "My youth pastor knows more about sex than anyone I know." Everyone laughed and moved over to the disagree side, except the kids in my youth group. They all stayed where they were on the agree side. Every thing kind of stopped for a moment and then the leader said, "Well, maybe I should ask Geoff if he’ll finish the rest of this seminar." Everyone laughed again and one of my kids turned to me and said, "You owe us SO big for this. We just scored you so many points."

I’m telling you this story not because I want you thinking we’re so lucky. I’m telling you it so that you don’t get your hopes up. I want to make sure that you’re not expecting that I’m some expert on Sex. I’m not. I’m a pastor.

But I will tell you that one of the reasons my kids reacted so immediately to that – even though it was a joke was because I used to lead a sex seminar for my own youth group for three weeks every year. During that seminar I handed out 3x5 cards to the group and invited them to ask any question they had and I promised them I would answer it. I also promised that if I didn’t know the answer I’d find out the answer.

What I discovered in doing that seminar each year was the struggle and weight the kids in my youth group were carrying with them. They had a lot of questions and they didn’t feel like they had someone to ask a lot of times. As word got out, about what I was doing, I had a lot of parents and other adults come and talk with me and they shared with me their burdens and questions.

So, I’m not an expert on sex. I know a lot because I’m been asked a lot of questions and I’ve listened to a lot of heart-aching stories, but I’m not an expert. I am a pastor and I’m your pastor and I want you to know that this is an important, even essential issue in our lives and that God has something to say about it. I want you to be clear on what God says and that God cares about you in every aspect of this issue. Most of all I want you to be able to praise God for how you are made… wonderfully made.

Study:

Let’s get some words clear first. When I use the word sexuality I’m talking about us as male and female human beings. When I talk about a specific sexual act then I will probably use the word for that act.

Why should we talk about this as Christians and why should we bring it into worship? I’m not here to give you a lecture on sexuality from a Christian perspective. We can set those up if you want, but I’m here to help you in worshipping the one who created you. Let me remind you of one of my foundational beliefs. Jesus did not die to make us Christians. He died to make us, to recreate us, into true human beings back in touch with our creator. We are called to celebrate our freedom and our safety and our excitement about being true human beings in touch with our creator. That’s why we gather here. We gather together to celebrate God’s love for us the way he created us.

God created us to know him and to love him and to enjoy him forever because he loves and wants to be in love with each of us. This is how we begin. Genesis… the word means beginning. This is how we begin.

Genesis tells us that God created everything. Now, if you ever feel like you need to defend that idea remind yourself that you weren’t there and neither was anyone else you may be talking to. Melissa Marley, our youth coordinator, was caught up for a little bit in the idea that scientists are pretty confident that the sun, our sun, will be gone in about 8 billion years. You weren’t around for the beginning and you probably, I’m guessing, won’t be around for the end. And that’s if scientists are correct. If the Bible is correct, then God created everything and you still weren’t around for it.

In other words, the point the Bible makes is that God created everything. Nothing science discovers is going to change that. God is going to bring everything to an end and nothing science predicts will ever change how that happens. The truth is that God did it and God will do it and science for all its work and efforts and insights will never threaten that. Enjoy science, study science, become scientists… and discover that God was there long before you and will be there long after you. God says to Job, you weren’t around when I created everything and I never asked for your advice so get on with living.

This is where we begin then. We begin in Genesis with our creation by God and what God tells us about that creation. The very first thing he tells us is that we were created different from everything else and that we were created to be part of it all. We are created differently from everything else and we are created to be part of it all.

Everything else God created he created out of his imagination. Humanity was created in the image of God. We are created to reflect God’s image… every one of us. Everyone is created in God’s image.

This is where we begin. The image of God is best expressed in male and female human beings. It is the design of God. When we enjoy ourselves as male or female we enjoy God’s design and God’s image.

This is such an important thing that the Bible says it three times. Always stop and think about the things the Bible repeats.

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

The point is made three different times and three different ways. Hear again what the Bible is repeating to us.

God is the one who created humanity.

It’s in the image of God that we are created.

Masculine and Feminine are equally and truly expressions of the image of God.

Some how together we are the full expressions of God’s image. Sexuality is deeply a part of the image of God. That’s important to catch, don’t you think? This is the way God is and the way God works. There may be others things this means, but one thing it definitely means is that it is only as we act together – male and female that we express the image of God as clearly as we can. I believe every one of us, each one separately, carries the image of God within us, but I also believe that the Bible is teaching us here – that God has said within our acting in life together – male and female – that we express the image of God.

It’s in the reality of community that we find the image of God. That’s repeated over and over. And we haven’t even gotten to say anything about any kind of sexual act.

The first place we start then is in intimacy with each other, and intimacy is in community. We work with each other, we get to know each other, we care about each other and we take care of each other. This is where we begin. We begin with celebration. We are male and female and we are created to reflect the image of God and the best way we do that is by living in community with each other.

Notice that the second thing said about human beings is that they are to be sexually active. That’s not how we usually go at this thing, is it? Usually we think that sexual activity is the highest, the first, the thing we need to make sure we get clear on. But, you know what… God didn’t call everyone to be sexually active. God didn’t say that sexual activity is the only way or even the best way to express the image of God. The first thing we celebrate is that God calls each of us into community with each other.

Think about that. Does that make a difference in how you would consider the shape and size of the other people around you? If the best expression of the image of God is males and females being in community with each other does it make a difference what we look like?

As the people of God then we need to remind ourselves that Jesus didn’t die to make us Christians. He wasn’t trying to form a religion. Jesus died to make us true human beings back in touch with our creator. Jesus died to clear the way for us to get back in touch with our creator and back in touch with each other. Jesus died to re-create us, to make us new, born again into the kingdom of God, under God’s rule, in God’s design.

So we celebrate that by living in community in our sexuality – our male and femaleness. We celebrate that by teaching our children that they are created in the image of God. They are beautiful. They are not beautiful like "beautiful" and "handsome". They are beautiful like amazing, like fearfully and wonderfully made. That’s not just parents. We all take on a responsibility as the community of Jesus’ people to help bring up the children of our community. We need to teach them that they are beautiful. This is where we begin and that’s difficult. But we need to learn how to do it because then we need to teach each other.

We need to teach each other that we are beautiful, and that’s difficult. How do we do that? I drive on Dale Mabry and there’s a sign outside of some place north of here that proclaims – "the most beautiful women are here". You know what I’ve started to do when I pass that place – I yell, "You haven’t been to my church!" There’s nothing wrong with them claiming that. They’re just wrong. They haven’t been here. Sometimes I don’t yell it. Sometimes I just think it. Sometimes I just say it to myself. I’ve noticed that when I say things over and over to myself they become real within me. Repetition becomes reality. Repetition becomes reality.

What are you repeating to yourself?

Are you repeating that people around you are annoying? Are you repeating that women and men are so different? Are you repeating that women don’t understand men and men don’t understand women? Are you repeating that they can’t work together? Are you repeating that only the best looking survive? Are you repeating that you’re ugly? Are you repeating something that is creating reality?

Always stop and think through when the Bible repeats something. Always remind yourself that God created by words. Always stop and think about what you are saying and repeating to yourself and to others around you. How do we teach each other that we’re beautiful, amazing, fearfully and wonderfully made? We look each other in the eyes. We look each other in the eyes and we look for beauty. We look for amazing. We look for fearfulness and wonder.

This is very difficult for us to do in our society. We are taught to look at the package and not the whole person. So how do we do it? First, we look each other in the eyes. If it is difficult for you to look people in the eyes, recognize that it’s because they are the windows of our soul. They reveal who we are. They make us vulnerable. We need to look each other in the eyes and to remind ourselves, repeat in ourselves, you’re beautiful. You’re made in the image of God. We need to repeat this, to create it inside ourselves. This is where we begin.

I picture two of our guys here, leaving, saying, "Hey! You’re beautiful man!" and goofing with each other. That’s fun. It’s on the edge of community. It’s about relationship. But we do have to be serious about doing this first.

The second thing said about human beings is that they should be sexually active. This is a good thing. In fact, according to the Bible it is a very good thing. It is also completely within the purpose of God for true human beings. But it’s also the second thing. Sexuality is our nature as male and female. Sexual activity is a secondary thing that includes procreation – having children.

We’re going to explore that in the weeks ahead because the way our society works sexual activity has become a very difficult thing.

The Bible tells us that everything that is the basis for sexuality and sexual activity comes before sin enters the picture. If we are going to act as true human beings, as those whom God created and with whom he wants a significant relationship then we need to have the best view of sexual activity as well as sexuality. But this is where we begin. We begin with sexuality – knowing that we all, each of us is created in the image of God, that each of us is beautiful and that it is as males and females working with each other, living in community with each other, supporting, caring about and caring for each other that we reflect the image of God. This is where we begin.